California Fish and Game Commission Meets Remotely, Allows CDFW to Temporarily Delay, Restrict or Suspend Fisheries Where Needed to Prevent the Spread of Coronavirus
April 15, 2020 by kmacinty, posted in Enforcement, Fisheries, Fishing (Sport), Law Enforcement, Public Participation, Regulations
On the first day of its April remote meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission revised its agenda and took up the ability for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to temporarily delay, suspend or restrict recreational fishing if the director of CDFW, in consultation with the president of the Commission, finds that such action is necessary to protect against the threat from COVID-19 based on state, federal, local, and tribal public health guidance and public safety needs.
The Commission voted unanimously to grant that ability, temporarily, in order to prevent and mitigate public health risks that may arise when people travel or congregate for fishing events. This is designed to be responsive to local county level and tribal needs, like the requests CDFW and the Commission received from Alpine, Inyo and Mono counties to delay the April 25 Eastern Sierra trout opener. The temporary authority expires May 31, 2020.
“I understand Californians desperately need the outdoors for solace, reinvigoration and spirituality, especially so right now,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “The proposal was never about a statewide permanent closure. It is about being responsive to local needs in this public health emergency, where we must do all we can as Californians to help each other make it through this together. We intend to use this authority surgically and based on local needs and knowledge.”
“Governor Newsom recently said we expect a mid-May peak of COVID-19 and we must prepare for that surge,” said Commission President Eric Sklar. “Today’s decision is a smart and responsible approach to be ready. It does not delay or restrict specific fisheries or waters, but rather prepares us to expeditiously do so if needed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”
Commission President Sklar, Commission Vice President Samantha Murray, and Commissioners Jacque Hostler-Carmesin, Russell Burns and Peter Silva participated in the call.
The Commission will continue its remote meeting tomorrow by phone. The remaining agenda can be found at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=177983&inline. More information can be found on the Commission website.
1) Anyone medically transported out of the area is going to do so thru local hospital care, putting our providers at risk; Including hospital, EMT’s, Lifeflight, and potentially law enforcement personnel. 2) As a low population, rural community, that often struggles to attract and retain qualified medical personnel, especially board… Read more »
LOL Constitutional scholars all over this place. The things you would learn if you actually understood how those words on those pages are implemented in times of war (and now pandemics)…
Ultimately this is not a fishing problem, but a person problem- if you ban fishing, people from SoCal and the Bay area will still come rock climb/bike/”social distance”. It will not fix the problem. It sounds like the Northern CA counties have been able to enforce the non-essential travel ban-… Read more »
The article on Livescience.com is a good starting point. This is the Stanford study. What it shows if the study testing is confirmed as valid is that many have been infected with the virus and are not symptomatic and the infection is producing herd immunity. As seen with most new… Read more »
Liberty, I replied to your post yesterday, but it’s not showing up so I’m again responding (abbreviated version!). Anyway, thank you for the link, I took a look at that (and Bryan, I’m not angry and I didn’t say anything about the study being non-existent, I said it wasn’t in… Read more »
The problem is you can’t close tourists off from travel or local residents for that matter traveling and bringing the virus back with them, it’s against this thing called the Constitution, both the state and the federal and each have priority over the Fish and Game Commission and local health… Read more »
Liberty, you are right that people can’t be denied going wherever they want during this pandemic, however, asking people to be socially and morally responsible is not unconstitutional. You are missing (or ignoring?) the fact that, asymptomatic spread is a huge problem and this is the reason for shutting down… Read more »
That study you think doesn’t exist, came from Stanford and has been widely reported. It is currently under peer review where it is likely to change a little, but I’d bet you their thesis stands up. Stop getting angry with people who disagree with you. This is an extremely complex… Read more »
Mono Person Are you also a BETTING person ? If so,how much do you want to bet,6 days from now,the Eastern Sierra fishing season will be a go,all the now-closed campgrounds,motels and short-term rentals will be open and filled with occupants,Friday afternoon and evening HWY 395 will be alive again… Read more »
Why is it, that thousands of people are going to come up here and just spread viruses everywhere. How about maybe 500, show up to fish far apart, which they usually do? We already have a lot of people bugging out and camping wherever. What is the difference? Calm down… Read more »
Mono Person Just out of curiosity,how would you “pick ” the 500 out of 25,000 wanting to come up here,and how would it be controlled ? If they got to # 500 on the white and blue RV,would it mean #501,being Grandma in the back seat would have to hitch… Read more »
That is the point!! I don’t know, you don’t know. But you like your “fantastic” stories, for the basis of you opinion. I have a different view, and it doesn’t make it “wrong”.
Fishing season has NOT been postponed. Read the directive.
“Liberty” Your above post,looks like a lot of “Who shot John” to me. There would’ve been very few “solitary” areas to fish the Eastern Sierra on opening day.Not to mention the packed campgrounds and campsites,and if some had their way,the busy restaurants and taverns,people telling their fish stories at night.… Read more »
The small rural counties in the northern Sierra and Nevada are not panic stricken and are not closing trout season even “temporarily.” They know fishing can be safe and solitary and being out in nature is positive. The order also doesn’t stop tourists from pouring in for other activities. The… Read more »
Thank you!!! Common sense is so rare!
There is a ban on our traveling outside our counties, it’s called shelter in place. I’ve had to go to Carson City a couple of times for doctor’s appointments and made no other stops besides the appt.. I’m curious about your experience medically since your views are not held by… Read more »
What is it about “NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL” do people not understand? There is, and has been, a state-wide ban on NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL for the past month, and it is presently ongoing until further notice. Yes, residents of Inyo/Mono counties do need to travel OUT of the area for some medical services,… Read more »
Who decides what is essential and what is not? Because right now, the parks, lakes, deserts, and forest are closed. But I can go buy a bottle of whisky and a joint at the local store, grab my clubs and go play golf… Does that make sense?
The Commission is showing good common horse sense! We don’t want unnecessary travel during this pandemic. Stay home and wait it out.
I see many of you agree with this. I don’t understand why. What does wait it out mean? There will never be a no risk outcome. All hospitals are green and casualties are much much lower than expected. Why, under these conditions, be stuck in our houses? It seems to… Read more »